Under Pressure

Recently I had a little chat with someone I know and love quite well. She's got a wonderfully adorable baby belly and all the anxiety that comes with it! She tells me things like, "Pregnant women aren't supposed to eat cheese," or something equally crazy. Most of our conversations begin with something along the lines of "Have you heard of doing/not doing _______ during pregnancy?"

Almost every day there is a new "danger" she's heard of, or something of dire importance that she MUST do in order to have a healthy baby. Is it just me, or does it seem like the pressures are getting a little insurmountable? I know I had anxieties, but I can't for the life of me remember being so overwhelmed. I remember telling my grandma about how babies under a year old aren't supposed to eat honey. She gave me the weirdest look and told me her babies had honey all the time and asked, "Who makes these rules?" So I quite fretting.

I suppose it's just personality types. When it comes down to it, my thought process is that women have been having babies for a bagillion years just fine without taking eighteen supplements and avoiding direct sunlight and soft cheeses, and so can I. My lifestyle is pretty balanced, natural, relaxed. I'm a go-with-the-flow kinda gal.

Perhaps the internet is to blame, with its endless store of useless (and largely made up) information. Do this, don't do that, eat this, don't eat that. And there are forums dedicated to "I heard of this lady who..." stories that never end well. Don't ever read them.

So here's my final word: chill out. You'll have the baby, and both be okay. Life will get more complex, yet more simple. It will be hard. You'll cry. Do what feels right. You'll laugh, and both be okay.